In a shock decision, Bridgestone has announced that they will say farewell to Formula 1 at the end of the 2010 World Championship season. Citing the current economical situation and escalating costs as the main reasons for their withdrawal, the Tokyo-based conglomerate – who has been supplying F1 teams with tyres for the last 13 years – now joins the ever-growing number of companies (BMW, Honda and Suzuki) who’ve recently pulled the plug on professional motor sport. Following the departure of Michelin in 2006 and Goodyear back in 1998, it’s now anyone’s guess who’ll step up and fill the gigantic shoes that Bridgestone has left to fill. If you ask me, if they had any sense, I’d say that this would be a golden opportunity for smaller companies like Pirelli, Hankook or Yokohama to pounce…